The present disclosure relates to a device for the control of an electronic apparatus, the device including a movable upper panel on which at least one control action is exerted.
More specifically, the present disclosure relates particularly to a device for the control of an electronic apparatus, the device includes an upper panel which extends in a globally horizontal plane, comprising an upper, so-called actuation, face on which, by means of a control member, a user can exert at least one control action by applying to this upper face a globally downward oriented pressure loading; a lower support armature with respect to which the upper panel, under the effect of the control action, that is movably mounted according to a vertical motion between a top rest position, to which the panel is elastically restored, and an active bottom position; a switching breaker which is triggered directly by the upper panel to produce a control signal for the electronic apparatus when the upper panel is in its active bottom position; and an articulated structure which is interposed vertically between the upper panel and the armature to hold the upper panel globally parallel to itself in a horizontal plane during its downward vertical motion with respect to the armature.
Such a control device is made in such a way that, under the effect of the control action, the upper panel is able to move downwards, according to a motion consisting globally of a vertical translation, so as to act on the switching breaker with a view to causing its triggering, that is to say with a view to causing a change of switching state by for example toggling the electrical breaker from a rest state in which it is normally open, to a closed active state. The articulated structure cooperates with the upper panel and with the lower armature to suspend and hold the upper panel substantially parallel to its horizontal plane when a control action able to cause its vertical displacement is exerted.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,704,005, the content of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety, describes and represents such a control device in which the breaker or switch is of the mono-stable type with abrupt change of state providing a tactile sensation of change of state and which is arranged in such a way that its actuation axis is arranged globally at the centre of the upper actuation face which is delimited by a rectangular contour. Moreover, the structure for suspending and holding the upper panel is illustrated in a schematic manner in the form of a pantograph in two parts with crossed arms which constitutes an “up and down” mechanism designed in such a way that the upper panel is supported by the pantograph so as to be able to move upwards and downwards.
Such a device exhibits a global imbalance of the upper panel “about” the vertical axis of the switch which causes unchecked tilting motions of the upper panel, in particular as a function of the position, in the upper actuation face, of the point at which the control action is applied. Indeed, this design causes an imbalance of the system depending on whether the control action is exerted on the upper panel at a point positioned in proximity to the position of the switching breaker, or at a point distant from the latter. These imbalances, associated with the interactions of the pantograph with the upper panel, induce in particular a non-regularity of the manipulation sensations for the user. Moreover, the resulting force of the control action is not transmitted in a homogeneous manner to the switching breaker.